As magical run comes to an end, Toms River National will always have memories to cherish

Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-LedgerToms River Manager Paul Deceglie talks with his infield members after pitcher Kevin Blum (holding ball) allowed a two-base hit in the top of the 6th inning against Waipahu, Hawaii.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Years and decades from now, the 13 Little League all-stars from Toms River National will be able to look back and reminisce with their neighbors, children and families about how they turned a balmy New Jersey summer into a journey that any 12 year-old with a baseball glove would dream of.

Toms River National’s 26-game run, a tournament ride that started in mid-June, finally ended Sunday afternoon, when it was eliminated, 3-1, by Waipahu, Hawaii, in the loser’s bracket of the Little League World Series in front of 11,231 at Howard J. Lamade Stadium. But the memories of their improbable run figure to remain fresh for some time. How they earned the right to play on Little League’s grandest stage. How they became middle school-age celebrities for a national audience.

“It was a great experience,” said TRN second baseman Russell Petranto, who went 1-for-3 at the plate. “I just wish we would’ve gone a little farther than we did.”

For TRN manager Paul Deceglie, the fact that the title chase was finally over still hadn’t hit home after the game.

“When we pulled up on Tuesday, my wife texted me and asked, ‘What do you think (of Williamsport)?’” Deceglie said. “And I told her it was unimaginable. That’s what we were feeling.

“And to be honest with you, I don’t even know if it’s sunk in that I’m here. ... I don’t think it’s hit us, because we’ve been on the road since the fourth of August.”

But when pinch hitter Cody LeBar struck out in the sixth with the tying run on base to end the game, the magical run was over for Deceglie’s players.

“It’s sad,” said TRN center fielder Kevin Blum, who accounted for his team’s only run when he led off the bottom half of the first inning with a homer deep into right-center field to tie the game at 1-1. “I wish we would’ve been able to stick around a little longer.”

Unfortunately for TRN (21-5, 0-2 LLWS), Blum’s home run, the team’s 88th of the season, was also the last run the team would plate. Waipahu pitcher Shiloh Baniaga settled down from there, allowing just two hits the rest of the way as he stifled TRN’s potent lineup with an array of fastballs and curves. In all, Baniaga, who also homered in the first, struck out six in five innings before giving way to Dane Kaneshiro, who earned the save.

“He had good control,” Deceglie said. “The way he was pitching, I don’t think even I would have been able to hit him.”

Waipahu (1-1) took the lead, 2-1, in the third when its cleanup hitter, Kaimana Bartolome, bounced into an RBI fielder’s choice. Then, in the fifth, Ty DeSa sent an offering from TRN starter Michael Tiplady deep into right-center for a solo homer, giving his team all the insurance it needed.

Tiplady was saddled with the loss despite allowing just three runs in 4⅔ innings.

“He was great for us today,” Deceglie said. “He deserved a better fate.”

TRN, which had fended off elimination 10 times this season, threatened in the third and fourth, but was unable to come up with a key hit.

“It had to come to an end sooner or later,” said Deceglie, whose team will face West Africa Tuesday at noon in its crossover consolation game. “The run has been great. … There are no words you can put on what the experience is like here.”